


I Know You Care

by badwolfandconverse



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Character Development, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friendship/Love, Game Spoilers, Grief/Mourning, Slow Burn, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-05-06 05:07:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5404148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badwolfandconverse/pseuds/badwolfandconverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This 'brave new world' is full of ghosts, their echoes haunting them and reminding them of the perfect lives they led once upon a time. They are lost in who they used to be, trying hard to figure out how to stop telling somebody else’s story and become confident in their own. They don't deserve anything but they are owed better. </p><p>Inspired by Halsey's "Gasoline" and Steam Powered Giraffe's "Honeybee". </p><p>nick valentine the synth & s.s. the s̶o̶c̶i̶o̶p̶a̶t̶h̶</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Know You Care

**Author's Note:**

> my first attempt at writing F!SS/Nick
> 
> an aesthetic graphic per chapter

 

 

...

 

Disconnected from the world around her, the woman fresh from the vault desperately needed something to sweep her off her feet. It didn't need to be a man. It didn't need to be a woman. It didn't need to be a specific event or some grand gesture. It just needed to be _something._ Nothing specific came to mind however. Nothing except the memory of Nate sweeping her off her feet and twirling her around the living room of their new home. A new home that was now over two hundred years old and nearly damaged beyond repair. The memory brings up a feeling deep within her that she pushes down furiously.

Life goes on and so must she. She soldiers on despite never being a soldier. That wasn't her title before the war. That belonged to Nate and Nate alone. Nate the combat engineer. Nate the soldier man. Nate the army veteran. It was time to find that _something_ that she can claim for herself. As of the moment, it was just her and her name. A name she had no use for now. It only served as a harsh reminder of the life she led before the bombs fell and took away everything in its wake.

Almost everything. There was still her son and robot butler. Small shreds left of a crumbling identity she wanted to take back. It was only a matter of deciding whether or not she wanted it back. In the end, she ended up searching the neighborhood for Shaun with Codsworth. The search had been useless just like she expected it to be so she wasn't left disappointed by the results. Codsworth sent her on her way to Concord, hoping to find answers there about her stolen son.

All that greeted her there were people that needed her help against raiders and an enraged Deathclaw. The only good thing to come of it was her new traveling companion, Dogmeat. She always wanted a dog. Nate had wanted one too but only if they couldn't have a baby. She tries not to dwell on that thought, focusing instead on her newly acquired power armor. Nate had more experience with the two hundred year old army equipment. Seems he would've been more fitted for the job than her. But she managed to pull it off with little to no injuries. Of course, there's still room for improvement, she tells herself.

The next few days became a blurry haze of nothing. All she can recall is fixing Shaun's room and running errands for the Minutemen. Establishing Sanctuary as their new home and helping out nearby settlements grants her the rank of General so it was time well spent.

 **General**. A prestigious title. She decides it's a good enough start.

After telling Preston she was going to head to Diamond City to search for the bright heart Mama Murphy told her about, she begins her journey for the Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth. Most days were spent dodging and weaving through raider and super mutant territory, only attacking when she was certain she'd be in control of the firefight and come out on top as the survivor. Some days were spent investigating run down houses and building a small collection of useful junk. Other days were spent huddled in a corner of a diner eating old potato crisps, letting Dogmeat have the Salisbury steak, figuring she owed him for following her through alleyways and traps.

The last day was spent staring up at the morning sky painted in hues of pink and orange, providing the perfect backdrop for her arrival at Diamond City. Pretty soon she was greeted by a person shouting at an intercom and being dragged into a precarious situation between the woman and the mayor. After cutting through the tense air between the two and being offered a chance for an interview, she entered Fenway Park with muted awe and well hidden despair. From where she stood, she could see the seats her and Nate sat at for almost every Boston Red Sox game. Fragmented memories of simpler days kept popping up in the forefront of her mind at every given opportunity. To get rid of them, she merely smashed the fragments into smaller ones, mindful of the sharp shards of glass that cut her up each time. It was like hitting a mirror with a closed fist, watching the shattered pieces fall to her feet.

Once her mind was free of the fractured memories, she made a beeline for the Valentine Detective Agency, not paying any attention to the whispered words around her. There was one name they called her that made her take a slight pause.

 **Vault Dweller**. It was a step down from General but the residents of Diamond City are not part of the Minutemen and have no reason to call her such a name. To her, Vault Dweller was too ambiguous and could refer to anybody who hails from a Vault. And 'Vaultie' was out of the question.

Her own heart quickened when she spotted the bright heart flickering on a sign, the arrow pointing her in the direction of the agency. Nick Valentine will be the man with the bright heart who will help her find her son. This gave her a sense of hope. Hope. That foreign feeling didn't feel real. It had to be a fake impossible word her mind made up for her. She was proved right when she went through the doors to the agency and it was revealed through his assistant that the detective was gone along with her hope. He had disappeared two weeks ago on a case that led him to a vault. It appeared her journey to save her son started with leaving a vault and now entering a vault.

Promises were made to rescue the detective for she was still certain he was the answer to all her problems. Before she could leave Diamond City she was stopped by the reporter from before, asking her if she was ready for that interview. She obliged, wanting to be known by a different name other than the 'Vault Dweller'. When Piper asked for her actual name however, she did not give it. Piper had laughed, telling her she'll think of a personal nickname for her later.

This was her time to tell her story, to give her opinions on Diamond city, to let her know why she had come here in the first place. She explained her missing son, her being over two hundred years old, her reaction to the Green Jewel, and her impending search for the missing detective. Only one of those was a lie. She had told Piper that seeing her favorite ball park turned into a shanty town gave her hope. In reality, the only thing that gave her some semblance hope at the moment was the detective she hasn't met yet. It had seemed like the right answer for it was fairly obvious to her that this dark depressing wasteland could use a little hope. Except she wasn't sure if she should be the one to give it. Nate's positive energy would've been perfect for this desolate world.

When the time came for her to leave, Piper wished her luck and offered her company if she ever needed backup out in the wasteland. She said she'd take her up on her offer in the near future, providing that finding the detective wasn't a disaster. Piper smiled and called her 'Blue', deciding that would be her official nickname from now on. A raised eyebrow prompted her to explain and the reporter pointed at her vault jumpsuit, saying that the thing made her stick out like a sore thumb. _Blue._ Not an official title, just a friendly nickname given to her from a possible friend.

She made her way from Diamond City to Vault 114, running carelessly with her dog at her heels the entire way. After fighting her way through the Triggermen and arriving at the terminal that would unlock the door to her supposed salvation, long she stood there...wondering and fearing and doubting the dreams that this man will help lead her to one of the last strands of her frayed life. At the press of a button, the door unlocked and she entered, her piercing stare striking the detective to his core as he joked about the reversal damsel in distress scenario.

Even when Nick Valentine the human turned out to be Nick Valentine the synth, she didn't retract her previous statement. This was the man with the bright heart. This was the detective that planted the impossible seed of hope in her. This was the _something_ to sweep her off her feet.

She just didn't know it yet. And neither did he.

There was a question he posed to her. He was asking for her name. The hazy fog that settled over her mind the moment she stumbled out of the vault started to clear away as she pondered her answer, her eyes searching his own for they were the only source of light in the room.

“Vale.”

A small barely there smile appears and it's the first one on her face since stepping out of Vault 111. He returns the grin, head tilted to the side as he appraises his rescuer.

“Vale and Valentine. That could work.”

 


End file.
